It was an unexpected rescue at Makaha Beach. A veteran of the West Oahu break was knocked unconscious. On Friday, he got the chance to thank the men who saved his life.

The infamous backwash at Makaha Beach has been the source of thousands of nasty wipeouts and broken bones. On March 5, it nearly claimed the life of a Makaha regular.

“The backwash rather than being two feet grew to like four feet and you just hit like a motorcycle ramp and unfortunately, I ended up in a X-Games jump rather than just kind of coming in,” victim Fred Klettke said.